Dream-wave band Lunar Twin presents their new EP featuring two tracks from their debut self titled EP and 7 remixes on the EP’s lead track ‘Champagne’. ‘Champagne’ is a soft but deep epic ballad. The music slowly flows around while having a massive and dramatic presence about it, at times feeling like oceam waves slowly forming and then covering the beach.
Following comes the different remixes. The trouble that often plagues remix EPs is that you end up essentially listening to the same song over and over again, in this case it results in listening to the song eight times. For this to be bearable (or better yet enjoyable) each remix has to provide something new and different to the mix to make it stand on its own. While there are some okay (and a sprinkling of good) moments, like so many remix EPs they don’t offer enough to make listening to it all from start to finish that pleasant a task. One may well argue that it isn’t the purpose of a remix EP to be listened from start to finish, however when taking on the task of reviewing said EP, that is what must be done, and so this review reflects that experience.
The ‘Woofy remix’ brings in an electronic dance beat and other curious sound effects. It works okay as a techno-dance tune but the emotion and atmosphere that was achieved in the original are sadly suppressed to make way for a far inferior sound. On top of this the remix sees the song extended by 2 minutes without adding much substances making it feel stretched out and before long dreary.
The Haioki Remix is a much softer chilled out interpretation. While it starts out in a nice enough way it is too subtle to achieve anything of great interest and soon becomes pleasant background music but little more.
The ‘Ummagma remix’ has some nice atmospheric textures explores in a soft and chilled manner. As it progresses it brings about some curious spacey psychedelic. Sadly they end up being cut short before they have a chance to develop into anything.
The ‘Romin remix’ brings in some curious industrial sounds into the mix giving the song a darker, more menacing feel to it. As a result it works as the strongest of all the remixes, standing out as an interesting re-interpretation.
The ‘Statickman remix’ brings in some standard techno sounds to make it basically a standard techno song. The original parts of the song end up sounding like they were just tagged on at the end and feel out of place, even though the main body of this work is monotonous and largely forgettable.
The ‘Mushroom projects remix’ brings in some interesting jungle sounds that result in a completely different slant of the song. However, going for almost 12 minutes it is stretched out far more than it should and, like an organge drink that has been watered down far too much, lacks the flavor required to be bothered to go the distance.
The ‘Go Satta’ remix brings in song female harmonies and some Mike Oldfield-esq harmonies. As a result it is a not too bad listen.
Metroplex (a completely different track) brings a welcome break from the repetition of 8 sons that all sound the same. It is lively with some fast and infectious beats which are complemented by the contrasting post-punk undertones. The low and dry vocals add to the chilling vibe that is explored. Meaning while the EP was a bit of a drain to listen to it ended on a big high!
The two original tracks here are brilliant and indeed there are some good remixes. Sadly on the whole this EP is largely a snooze fest that will not be revised after first listen. Lunar Twin’s debut EP, where the originals of these tracks are lifted from, is very much worth checking out. This remix EP, on the other hand, should be given a miss!
